WSU Gets Quick Lesson In Publicity School May Have Jumped The Gun In Announcing Antioxidants Test

An announcement made last week by two Washington State University researchers suggested that Spokane had come one step closer to becoming a regional biotech center.

The Aug. 23 release said WSU Spokane researchers Alison Trenter and Lori Schoonover are developing a test to quickly and accurately measure antioxidants in the body.

The test could help “millions of patients,” the release said, and potentially lead to a payoff for the university and the researchers.

But the announcement also led to a crash course for WSU Spokane officials in the university’s complex intellectual property rules.

Researchers worldwide are actively studying the effects of antioxidants on human health.

The test being developed at WSU Spokane could be faster and more effective in measuring the amount of antioxidants in a person’s blood.

Scientists have concluded the aging process might be delayed through anti-oxidants, drugs that reduce cellular byproducts called oxidants.

If WSU obtains a patent for the antioxidant test, the next step could be commercial development.

Then, like universities elsewhere that have reaped windfall royalties on research, WSU could see a hefty payback for its two researchers and for the university in general.

But WSU Pullman’s officials said last week’s release about the test, while newsworthy, jumped the gun and violated university policies on how such announcements are made public.

Those policies state that announcements about new products or cutting-edge research cannot be made until the school files for patents on the work, said Leona Fitzmaurice, executive director of WSU’s Office of Intellectual Property Administration.

“We typically consider premature publicity in this area of intellectual property more dangerous than it’s worth,” said Fitzmaurice, who began her new job in January.

Fitzmaurice moved to Pullman after holding a similar post at the University of Florida.

She said WSU Spokane officials probably were not as clear on the rules as they should be.

And she has used this announcement to better explain WSU’s property-protection guidelines.

The announcement and its aftermath underline how universities such as are now enmeshed in the legal complexities of patents and copyrights, said WSU Spokane Campus Dean William Gray.

“This is new territory for us,” said Gray. “This is very sophisticated and complex law and policy. Most of us (at WSU) won’t have contact with it more than once a year, at most.”

He said WSU Spokane health science administrators acted in good faith and didn’t consider the release a serious violation of the policy.

Added Joanna Ellington, who helped prepare the release: “I think it’s a matter of how one interprets” the copyright guidelines.

If the press release revealed specific information about the medical test and how it was developed, that would violate the policies, said Ellington.

She thinks the release was general in simply stating that Trenter and Schoonover were nearing completion of the test, which would be “a first of its kind to measure antioxidant levels in the blood.”

Ellington admitted, after reviewing the WSU six-page “invention disclosure” form, that future announcements must first wait until Fitzmaurice’s office reviews any research developments.

That form, said Fitzmaurice, is similar to those adopted by universities worldwide. It’s a tool to decide if pursuing a patent makes sense, she said.

In the case of the anti-oxidant test, WSU has just one year from the date of “public disclosure” to file for a patent, said Fitzmaurice.

It’s not clear if the press release constituted public disclosure. Fitzmaurice has asked a patent attorney to give an opinion.

The same attorney will also advise WSU whether to seek a patent on the test “if it’s found to have commercial value,” said Fitzmaurice.

Spokane area business leaders have said the Inland Northwest’s medical community serves as a natural seedbed for biotech inventions.

WSU Spokane officials, in fact, gave Ellington a new job last month. She’s now director of biomedical development - a post meant to collaborate between WSU Spokane researchers and area doctors, labs, biotech firms and venture firms.

Ellington said the press release was meant to showcase one of the first major examples of key bioresearch occurring here.